Ripped to Shreds! Defenders slammed in L.A 39-9

At the end of the first two weeks of the XFL season, the D.C. Defenders had a case for being the class of the league with the Houston Roughnecks as the only teams to win both of their games.

I agreed with that viewpoint, but I pointed out last week that we couldn't be sure as the Defenders would have to prove it on the road.
They didn't.
The previously winless Los Angeles Wildcats rolled over, up, and through the Defenders on their way to a 39-9 win in Los Angeles.
The only Defenders touchdown didn't occur until late in the fourth quarter on a 39 yard run by Nick Brossette.
Cardale Jones threw four interceptions and finished with only 103 yards passing with Nick Brossette finished with 75 yards on the ground to lead the Defenders.
D.C. drops to 2-1 overall and with St.Louis defeating New York earlier in the day, the two teams are now tied for first in the Eastern Division.

Defensive Deflections

1) If the stat sheet was the entire story, you might think this game was reasonably close.
However, there is more to games than only stats and the Defenders offense seemed very out of sync on offense from the start.
D.C. didn't cross mid-field until their final drive of the first half, threw three interceptions, lost a fumble, and punting three times before their only score of the half on a 32 yard Ty Rausa field goal.

2) And one week after I crowed about the Defenders defense as being the best in the league, they allowed 39 points to a winless team.
The defense didn't play well, but three of the six Wildcat touchdowns were with great field position off turnovers.
They weren't great, but the loss cannot be totally placed on them.

3) The first half "fumble" on the scoresheet may have noted as such, but it was really a stuffed punt when punter Hunter Niswander had no chance to get the punt into the air, took a hit from a Wildcat and turned the ball over at the four-yard line.
Zero blame for Niswander there, but plenty of blame to the blocking unit.

4) There was a brief moment when I felt that maybe the tide could be turning in this loss.
The Defenders kicked a field goal at the end of the first half and at 27-3, it was unlikely, but the Defenders took the kickoff and put together an impressive drive in moving into Los Angeles territory.
I was just starting to think "a quick TD here and a stop, who knows?"
Then Cardale Jones threw interception number three.

5) Cardale Jones didn't play very well.
Four interceptions already said that, but the entire passing game was out of sync.
Some of this goes with Jones, but I saw far too many passes hit the turf without a receiver in the area.
That's a lack of communication and can be spread around to many persons, but it looks worst on Jones.

6) I wonder how much the Anthony Johnson for Bradley Sylve trade affected the Defender offense?
It was just two weeks ago and who better than a defensive back that works against a quarterback every day to know their tendencies?
I wonder how much Sylve was able to prepare the Wildcats for what the Defenders were likely to do?

7) The Defenders ran for 200 yards in this game and lost by 30.
I don't have the statistics on how often that has happened in football, but I'd bet not very often.
Think about this- if a team rushes for 200 yards, they usually are eating clock, rolling up points, and often both.
That keeps the other team from having the ball as often and for as many possessions, so logically it should be difficult to win by 30 and allow 200 on the ground- Unless the losing team turns the ball over often and gives up touchdowns off short drives.
We have a winner.

8) Nick Brossette led the team in rushing (eight carries, 75 yards) with most of it in garbage time, but Brossette showed a lot of wiggle and he was the only Defender that showed inspired play in the fourth quarter.
If I'm Pep Hamilton, I'm rewarding Brossette with more playing time next Sunday in Tampa.

9) One week after smashing every New York Guardian quarterback in sight with sacks and hits, the Defenders didn't register a sack and rarely pressured Josh Johnson.
It's not fair to say the Defenders are overrated, but they looked awful in this loss.

10) The Defenders travel to Tampa to play the 0-3 Vipers and you would think that playing the only team that hasn't won a game yet would be an excellent chance to rebound from this loss.
However, Los Angeles hadn't won a game either and look at how that resulted for D.C.
Still, the Defenders should be favored and a win would put them at 3-1 and should New York lose next week,  the Defenders could have a two-game lead for a playoff spot with six to go.